Ag roundup: Screwworm update; Prop 12 egg suit; zoning officials close15-year-old's bait shop; disaster aid opens

Screwworm concerns closed U.S.-Mexico livestock trading 
again. (Meredith Corp. photo via Successful Farming)

Continuing its uphill battle to prevent screwworms from re-entering the U.S., the Department of Agriculture suspended its plan to "gradually resume imports through four further ports in the coming months," reports Oliver Ward of Successful Farming. "The announcement came just two days after USDA reopened a single port of entry for Mexican livestock in Douglas, Arizona."

Chickens and eggs are back in the news as the Trump administration files suit against California over its Proposition 12 egg rules that require cage-free housing for egg-laying hens. The suit claims the state's restrictions "violate the federal Egg Products Inspection Act, which it said trumps state egg regulations," reports Philip Gruber of Lancaster Farming. "California law raises egg prices for consumers by preventing farmers across the country from using standard agricultural practices that would help keep prices down, President Donald Trump’s administration said in a July 9 filing."

Max McKinney and his bait stand that officials have
now closed. (Photo by Foss Farms via Farm Journal)

At 15 years old, Max McKinney was already an entrepreneur running his own bait and snack shop until zealous county officials shut him down. McKinney’s 6’x15’ shop "was deemed a zoning violation by Washburn County, Wis., officials," reports Chris Bennett for Farm Journal. "After snapping photographs of the stand as proof of McKinney’s assault on county code, zoning officials issued a cease-and-desist letter, ordering closure under penalty of daily fines." Read how the McKinney family responded here. McKinney's bait shop isn't the only one to get zapped by rule-strapping officials.

Farmers with crops battered by natural disasters in 2023 and 2024 can now apply for USDA aid payments. "The program, referred to as the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program, will be administered in two stages," reports Lydia Johnson of Successful Farming. "The first application stage begins this week for producers with eligible crop losses caused by hurricanes, wildfires and other weather events who received assistance under crop insurance or the non-insured crop disaster assistance program. The second stage will begin in the fall for producers with eligible shallow or uncovered losses."

A Kansas district will open its ag-focused center in a remodeled grade school 
that was closed years ago. (USD 269 photo via The Daily Yonder)

After years of declining student enrollment, the Palco-Damar-Zurich school district (Unified School District 269) in western Kansas found a way to harness its farming history and grow again. "About a dozen new students have signed on, drawn by a new Ag-Focused School model and the opening of USD 269’s Northwest Kansas Agriculture Education Center program," reports Lane Wendell Fischer of The Daily Yonder. "Their vision is to provide some form of agriculture education from preschool through high school. At the elementary levels, students will be engaged in ag-related activities, lessons, and will even roll up their sleeves to do some chores."

Few people are more obsessed with the weather than farmers. While American farmers have a myriad of tools to use, many rely on the U.S. Drought Monitor to measure critical rainfall information. But the Drought Monitor also informs scientists, academics, water management experts and regular citizens about national rainfall across time. Below are examples of July Drought Monitor maps, where the difference of a year can be easily compared. 

 

Quick hits: Racing cars with a 'twist;' egg prices slide; lower tariff for 'happy nut;' bird flu cases slow; PFAS trial

The Gary Wilson Jr. 2009 Toyota Yaris heads down the track. (Photo by Sam Wolfe, NPR)

Camden, S.C., may only have 7,800 people, but it hosts a raucous event where residents and visitors are treated to cars with bad rap sheets and crazy detailing. "The race cars roll into downtown like an old-fashioned circus . . . . A Honda Civic has a lawnmower, squirrels and flamingoes on its roof," reports Bill Chappell of NPR. "They're all here for the local installment of 24 Hours of Lemons, an endurance car race with a major twist: The cars can't cost more than $500. The series bills itself as 'racing for real people.' The 24 Hours of Lemons races started more than 15 years ago in California. There are now 23 races each year, from coast to coast."

Good news! Sort of. "The average price for a dozen Grade A eggs declined to $5.12 last month after reaching a record $6.23 in March," reports Dee-Ann Durbin of The Associated Press. "It was the first month-to-month drop in egg prices since October 2024. Overall, the average price of eggs of all sizes fell 12.7%, the steepest monthly decline since March 1984. . . . Still, retail egg prices remain near historic highs."

California farmers grow millions of pounds of
pistachios a year. (Adobe Stock photo)

U.S. farmers aren't the only ones grateful for a break from extreme U.S.-China tariffs -- Chinese pistachio lovers are also rejoicing. "Chinese consumers crave pistachios for their taste and health benefits, referring to them in a way that translates to 'happy nuts,'" reports Jim Carlton of The Wall Street Journal. "Since 2017, the value of U.S. pistachios shipped into China has shot up 20-fold from $42 million to $842 million last year, accounting for almost a third of the $3 billion crop."

Dairy trade between the United States and the United Kingdom has historically been skewed in the UK's favor; however, the new negotiation framework announced by the Trump administration "marks a crucial turning point as the U.S. seeks a level playing field with global dairy exporters," reports Karen Bohnert of Dairy Herd Management. "According to Gregg Doud, president of the National Milk Producers Federation, achieving a robust trade agreement with the UK is a vital step in correcting the current imbalances in the dairy trade."

Chickens, farmers and farm workers enjoy a reprieve from bird flu infections. (MedPage Today photo)

While not entirely explainable, "detections of H5N1 avian influenza have slowed in both animals and humans, but continued surveillance is warranted, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers said," reports Kristina Fiore of MedPage Today. "Someone questioned whether there was seasonality to H5N1. . . .Todd Davis, PhD, chief of the virology at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said any seasonality noted in other countries 'primarily corresponds to migratory bird patterns.'"

The first PFAS, or "forever chemicals," personal injury trial will focus on plaintiffs who allege they developed kidney cancer from firefighting foam. "The trial, set for Oct. 20, could include up to three individuals who claim their exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) caused their cancer," reports Pat Rizzuto of Bloomberg Law. "In [an] effort to manage the nearly 10,000 personal injury cases that are part of the Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Products Liability Litigation MDL 2873, Judge Richard M. Gergel, with the U.S. District Court for the District of S.C., established three batches of cases involving different illnesses."

The bird flu helped this egg company's profits soar, and now its pricing practices are under investigation

Egg prices remain high as one producer sees its profits
and stock prices surge. (Adobe Stock photo)

U.S. top egg supplier Cal-Maine attributes its soaring profits and doubled stock price to hen shortages caused by bird flu, combined with savvy business practices. Lawmakers and regulators aren't buying that response as the full story. Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal reports, "The Justice Department kicked off an investigation into the nationwide increase in the cost of eggs and is probing Cal-Maine’s and other companies’ pricing practices."

Cal-Maine explains its surging profits -- $508 million just in the first quarter of 2025 -- as the natural outcome of national egg shortages brought about by the severe avian flu outbreak, combined with its savvy production and investment strategy. The company's first-quarter profit was more than three times higher than the profit in its first quarter of 2024 -- $148 million. The company's chief executive, Sherman Miller, says, "He can’t ignore the rising animosity, and he’s ready to set the record straight," Thomas writes.

Miller told Thomas, “Someone has to get blamed for everything. They’re looking for a villain. . . . We’ve done absolutely everything we could do to supply every egg we could under circumstances we can’t control."

But what Cal-Maine can control matters because eggs aren't like other commodities. "The egg industry relies on contracts between a customer, like Walmart or Kroger, that wants to buy a certain amount of eggs from a supplier like Cal-Maine," Thomas explains. "Instead of producing all the eggs it sells in a year, Cal-Maine has historically handled spikes in demand by purchasing 10% to 25% from other suppliers on private exchanges such as the online Egg Clearinghouse."

Skeptics question Cal-Maine's private online exchange purchases. "Critics like Farm Action say that by buying eggs from rival producers on the Egg Clearinghouse, Cal-Maine contributes to limiting supply," Thomas reports. "This also can inflate prices because those purchases factor into the calculation for the industry benchmark prices, critics say."

Others wonder why Cal-Maine didn’t just "produce more eggs or decide to lower its prices during the avian-flu outbreak," Thomas writes. But company planners see the spike as temporary. "Historically, eggs tend to retail for $1 to $2 a dozen, and Cal-Maine executives say the sky-high prices probably won’t last."

Questioning Cal-Maine's pricing practices isn't new. "In 2023, a federal jury in Chicago decided that Cal-Maine and other big egg producers restricted supply in the early 2000s to raise prices, which inflated costs for companies that buy lots of eggs to make food products," Thomas adds. Several food companies were awarded $53 million in damages. Cal-Maine contested any claims of wrongdoing.

Americans will have to wait for egg prices to decrease; some are dyeing potatoes or onions instead

Dyeing Easter eggs is a tradition some families will
continue no matter the price of eggs. (Adobe Stock photo)

The price of a dozen eggs continues to defy gravity by going up and staying up, despite "a drop in wholesale prices and no egg farms having bird flu outbreaks," report Josh Funk and Dee-Ann Durbin of The Associated Press. "U.S. egg prices increased again last month to reach a new record-high of $6.23 per dozen despite President Donald Trump’s predictions" that prices would decline substantially. 

The continued spike in egg prices means, "businesses that rely on eggs might not get much immediate relief," AP reports. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins dubbed Easter "the Super Bowl of eggs" and reiterated that it may take a while longer for the price of eggs consumers pay to tip downward and balance with the wholesale market. In 2024, Americans spent roughly $45 million on eggs for Easter.

University of Arkansas agricultural economist Jada Thompson "said the wholesale prices did not start dropping until mid-March, so there may not have been enough time for the average price for the month to decline," Funk and Durbin write. "And grocery stores may not have immediately passed on the lower prices."

Some areas of the country are seeing lower prices. Funk and Durbin explain, "At a Walmart in Richmond, California, a dozen eggs were $6.34. In Omaha, Nebraska, Walmart was selling eggs for $4.97 per dozen. California requires eggs sold to be cage-free; Nebraska doesn’t."

Myhometravels photo

In some areas of the country, Americans are getting creative with their Easter dyeing choices. "Videos on how to dye marshmallows, potatoes and even onions have begun to circulate on social media and news websites," reports Korsha Wilson of The New York Times. " For the first time in [this farm's] 40-year history of the hunt, the eggs laid on the green grass of the farm will be made of plastic, filled with a coupon for a free ride on their carousel."

U.S. DOJ begins investigating reasons behind high egg prices, and bird flu may not be the only culprit

The rise and fall of egg prices from 2015 to 2022. (Federal Reserve St. Louis graphic, Bureau of Labor data)

Bird flu may not be the only driver of historically high egg prices throughout the United States. The Department of Justice "has opened an investigation into the cause of soaring egg prices, including whether large producers have conspired to raise prices or hold back supply," report Dave Michaels and Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. "The probe comes after prices have doubled over the past year and eggs are sometimes entirely absent from grocery store shelves."

High egg prices can mean more than an expensive omelet or a surcharge on a restaurant's border scramble. Eggs are a surprisingly common ingredient in hundreds of grocery items, which can range from baked goods to salad dressings. When egg prices increase, the overall cost of multiple products increases. 

Industry producers have "attributed high egg prices to the worst outbreak of avian flu in American history. It has resulted in the death of more than 150 million U.S. chickens, turkeys and egg-laying hens since 2022," the Journal reports. Egg producers say they have struggled to reestablish their egg-laying flocks "because even young birds, known as pullets, have been killed by the flu."

Despite spiking prices, many Americans still buy eggs, which can leave the supply chain stressed. "On average shoppers are paying about $5 a dozen, according to the Labor Department," Michaels and Thomas add. "Grocers and food distributors are paying about $8 a dozen at wholesale, which makes selling them often a money-loser."

When consumers pay double for a dozen eggs and grocers still lose money, some egg producers' huge profits may appear irregular. Lisa Phelan, an antitrust partner at Morrison Foerster, told the Journal, "Antitrust authorities often open investigations when high prices appear to stem from unusual disruptions to supply chains."

"Egg producers were losers in one recent lawsuit that alleged they restricted the supply of eggs through a trade association program," Michaels and Thomas explain. "A federal jury in Chicago found in late 2023 that Cal-Maine, Rose Acre Farms, United Egg Producers and U.S. Egg Marketers were liable for restricting supply between 2004 and 2008 through measures such as early slaughter and henhouse density restrictions." 

A federal plan to combat avian flu has 5 parts, but scientists disagree on how effective the changes will be

Major poultry and dairy organizations back vaccine
use to control the virus. (Farm Journal photo)

The Department of Agriculture has been hard at work "hatching" a plan to contain and prevent further avian flu, also known as bird flu, outbreaks among chicken flocks. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins "released a five-pronged strategy and investment of $1 billion to combat avian flu and reduce rising egg prices," reports Dawn Attride of Sentient Media. "The new measures focus largely on fixing on-farm biosecurity gaps as well as push for a new poultry vaccine."

A large chunk of the USDA's investment will shore up farm biosecurity by "ramping up protocols to guard against disease spillover from wildlife — at no cost to farmers," Attride explains. "The Rollins plan is light on concrete details as to what exactly the new biosecurity strategies are," but it appears the rollout will lean on a set of biosecurity protocols created in 2016 as part of the National Poultry Improvement Plan.

In her Wall Street Journal commentary, "Rollins notes that of the 150 sites that followed recommended biosecurity protocols, only one was subsequently affected by avian flu," Attride reports. The USDA plan includes using "smart perimeters" to predict and prevent the disease from infecting flocks.

Not all scientists agree that "smart perimeters" can deliver bird flu prevention. Maurice Pitesky, an associate professor and expert in poultry disease modeling at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, told Attride, "[Smart perimeters] are a pretty crude way of assessing risk." Attride adds, "What works better, according to Pitesky: accurately tracking bird movement and holistically assessing different factors — such as wind or temperature — that might drive birds into this radius."

The USDA also plans to step away from its long-held insistence that infected flocks be culled; however, experts disagree on how that change will play out. Meghan Davis, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, would like more details on which "strategies will replace depopulation," Attride reports. Davis told her, "These stamping out policies have been in place for quite some time. There’s a reason it exists and one of them is animal welfare issues –– these birds get really sick… and [rarely] recover."

The new plan looks to incorporate vaccinating chickens against the disease. "The USDA has given conditional approval to a Zoetis vaccine H5N2 for chickens, but has yet to give the go ahead for vaccinating commercial poultry flocks against avian flu," Attride adds. But "many countries won’t accept vaccinated chickens. The U.S. is the second-largest exporter of poultry and should a vaccine be rolled out, the federal government would have to negotiate agreements with its trading partners."  

"The plan’s success hinges on industry adoption and global trade acceptance," reports Jim Wiesemeyer of Farm Journal. "Balancing effective disease control with maintaining poultry exports remains a critical challenge."

Quick hits: AI gets an 'F' in language; more on eggs; barndominium battles; gift economies; dam removal benefits

AI earns an "F" in language. "AI flunks language tests that take grammar out of the equation," writes Rutvik Desai for The Conversation. "I’m a researcher who studies language and meaning. My research group developed a novel benchmark that can help people understand the limitations of large language models [that are used by AI] in understanding meaning." Word pairings are oddly challenging for AI to grasp. Read why here.

The incredible edible egg also busts budgets. (Adobe Stock photo)

Eggs are a cooking and baking staple, but at their current prices, using eggless recipes is a way American shoppers can save some cash. From chicken meatballs to shrimp in purgatory to peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, these recipes don't have eggs. Don't feel like learning a new recipe to avoid eggs? Here's a list of egg substitutes.

There's a lot to learn about raising
chickens. (Unsplash photo)

Some Americans love eggs so much, they aren't ready to avoid them or try to replace them. Instead, they've decided to take a crack at raising their own chickens. "After living through a pandemic and struggling with ongoing high grocery prices (particularly rising costs for poultry and eggs), many people are ready to make a change for themselves," reports Patrick Kuklinski for Modern Farmer. "Starting a journey in keeping poultry can be overwhelming – there’s a lot to learn, and some breeds have easier requirements than others." To find out what you need to know to raise your own flock, click here.

The barndominium battle being waged in this small lakeside town is becoming more common in rural places. "In Victoria, Minn., dozens of neighbors "signed a petition to reverse city approval for a plan for a five-bedroom house with a 6,000-square-foot garage — big enough to hold at least 20 cars and maybe a pickleball court," reports Joe Barrett of The Wall Street Journal. "But sometimes one homeowner’s dream garage is another’s backyard nightmare, sparking lawsuits, zoning battles and moratoria on mammoth man caves."

The book opens with the author, Indigenous botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer, "picking ripe serviceberries from laden bushes, surrounded by songbirds who also are filling up on the fruit. . . .The plant supports many species wherever it grows," writes Jennifer Weeks in her review of Kimmerer's newest book The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World. . . . "From this abundance, Kimmerer launches into her central point: Gift economies, centered on giving and re-giving, are all around us, and are a powerful counterpoint to market economies."

Small dam removal can make a big difference for freshwater plants and wildlife that once thrived along the East Coast. "More than 30,000 small dams currently block river tributaries from Maine to Maryland," reports Lela Nargi for Yale Environment360. "New initiatives to remove them are aimed at restoring natural flows, improving habitat for aquatic life, and reopening thousands of river miles to migratory fish, from shad to American eels."

As egg prices continue to climb, one U.S. egg producer reports an 82% increase in revenues. What's going on?

Revenue increases at Cal-Maine has some lawmakers
and consumer advocates calling for an investigation.

Bird flu may not be the only reason U.S. egg prices are climbing. The massive profit increases at Cal-Maine, the country's biggest egg producer, suggest another reason for soaring egg costs. The company's snowballing revenue has some lawmakers and consumer advocates asking for an investigation into egg pricing practices.

"There is at least one winner in the current shortage," report Danielle Kaye and Julie Creswell of The New York Times. "Cal-Maine Foods, which controls about a fifth of the egg market reported that its revenues jumped to $954 million in the quarter that ended in late November from $523 million from the prior year — an increase of 82%."

Cal-Maine has quietly consolidated portions of the egg industry, which has helped increase its profits. "Cal-Maine has acquired more than two dozen companies since 1989. It and four other large producers control roughly half of the egg market in the United States," Kaye and Creswell explain. "The company’s net income surged more than 500% to $218 million, from year-earlier levels, thanks to higher prices, the lower cost of feed and acquisitions of other operators."

Meanwhile, U.S. consumers continue to pay more and more for a dozen eggs. "The concentration of egg production in fewer hands is raising concerns, stoked by previous findings," the Times reports. "Two years ago, the largest producers were found liable for inflating prices in the 2000s. Now, some lawmakers are calling for federal regulators to investigate the industry."

Alvaro M. Bedoya, a Democratic commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission, told the Times, "I don’t know what’s happening in the egg industry, but it sure as hell seems we should be looking into it and see if there’s anticompetitive conduct that is hurting consumers." Kaye and Creswell add, "Similar pleas from advocacy groups and lawmakers were made to the F.T.C. under the Biden administration."

Read about the egg price-fixing case filed in 2011, which went to a jury, here.

Rural round-up: USDA plan to lower egg prices; cuts to rural education research; relief payments to farmers; USFS firings

Photo by J. Egger,
Unsplash

As egg prices keep pecking at American pocketbooks, Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has a 5-part plan to lower egg prices. Rollins writes, "Avian flu can still penetrate [almost any] facility; it is transmitted through wild birds that often enter through perimeter gaps that need to be fixed. . . . The USDA has developed a successful pilot program. . . to identify and implement more safety measures. . . . Second, we will make up to $400 million of increased financial relief available to farmers whose flocks are affected by avian flu, and we will assist them in receiving faster approval to begin safe operations again after an outbreak. . . ." Read all of Secretary Rollins' strategy here.

President Donald Trump's first campaign and term may have helped bring rural needs for investment and support to the forefront, but the current Trump administration "could bring that progress to a sudden halt," reports Nick Fouriezos for The Daily Yonder. "The first cuts were reportedly aimed at the Institute of Education Sciences, the Department of Education's independent research and evaluation arm, with at least 170 contracts shuttered. . . . The National Rural Higher Education Research Center just opened in September, after being awarded a 5-year, $10 million grant through the IES. . . . Led by MDRC, which conducts nonpartisan research to improve the lives of low-income Americans, the center is conducting eight major studies in rural areas across 10 states and 25 colleges."

Outdoor Recreation Roundtable photo

The wave of U.S. Forestry terminations put a precious rural resources at risk. "About 3,400 U.S. Forest Service employees within their probationary period have been fired due to Trump’s reforming the federal workforce executive order," reports Ilana Newman of The Daily Yonder. "National forests are vital to rural economies. The outdoor recreation industry contributed 1.2 trillion dollars to the American economy in 2023. . . . A source revealed that seasonal firefighters may be in the next round of terminations."

Sections of Appalachia were doused with rain last week, leaving parts of Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee soaked and flooding -- again. The region's repeated natural disasters have caused heartbreak and extreme financial distress for many residents, but they have also helped Appalachian communities rely on one another. "Willa Johnson, a lifelong eastern Kentuckian, lived in McRoberts when the 2022 flood overturned her life," reports Katie Myers of Grist. "Johnson and others throughout the area feel their experience has prepared them to face future disasters with strength, and, when other rural communities go through the same experience, understand what they face and how best to help them."

In late December, Congress passed the American Relief Act, which earmarked $9.8 billion in agriculture relief payments to farmers, with a 90-day window for the Department of Agriculture to issue the checks, reports Tyne Morgan of Farm Journal. "With less than 30 days left before the deadline, farmers are asking one question: When will those payments be released? . . . .  On Thursday Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins confirmed payments will be released before the March 21 current deadline. She also outlined the timing of the $1 billion just announced to combat avian flu. Rollins is schedule to give another keynote talk today. To watch Farm Journal's most recent update interview with Rollins, click here.

The battle over a chicken vaccination puts egg and poultry industries at odds

Chicken vaxing could help egg producers but harm
poultry industries. (Adobe Stock photo)

American poultry and egg businesses can't agree on a strategy to contain bird flu while protecting incomes. "The chicken and egg industries are at odds. The argument isn’t over which came first but about bird flu vaccinations," reports Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. "Egg companies are calling for a stronger government response to the bird flu outbreak. . . . They are also petitioning regulators to greenlight a vaccine that could be administered on farms, a sharp reversal from their position a few years ago."

Chicken companies, such as Purdue and Tyson, are not on board with a large-scale flock vaccination because it would put their $5 billion chicken export revenue at risk. Thomas explains, "Countries that import chicken products would cut off purchases of American poultry. Each country would need to sign off on the U.S.’s vaccination strategy before accepting imports again."

Despite the debate, the Department of Agriculture issued a "conditional approval to animal-health company Zoetis for its bird flu vaccine for poultry," Thomas reports. "The next step in the process would be getting commercial approval. Even if that happens, it will still take time to sort out trade ramifications, ramp up production and develop a distribution. For now, the vaccine "is not authorized for use on farms, and poultry producers can’t buy it."

In the coming week, the USDA is expected to "roll out a comprehensive strategy to combat bird flu, the agency representative said, adding that the administration is committed to safeguarding poultry farms and keeping egg prices affordable for families," Thomas adds. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Fox News, "This is going to take a little while to bring these prices back down."

Although a chicken vaccine would help the egg industry, delayed chicken exports would produce a chain of costly international and domestic trade problems. Thomas explains, "A backup in exports could lead to production cuts from major chicken companies, resulting in fewer grain and soybean purchases for livestock feed from farmers."

Sales are brisk at this little-known clearinghouse that sells eggs by the billions

 ECI trade currency is eggs.
(Eggleston Farm Fresh Foods photo)

A big hot spot for egg sales isn't at the grocery store. It's at a New England clearinghouse affectionately known as the "Wall Street of Eggs," reports Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. "From an office building in New Hampshire, roughly a dozen people facilitate the trading of billions of eggs a year, a task that shapes what Americans pay per dozen at the supermarket or for omelets at diners."

Who knew? Very few. Thomas explains, "The Egg Clearinghouse, or ECI, is little known outside the industry: It operates an online marketplace that allows participants to place bids on eggs listed for sale and see the results of trades. Only ECI members — farmers and egg buyers — are allowed to trade."

Given the plummeting numbers of egg-laying hens due to bird flu deaths, the business is a seller's market. "Last year marked the company’s busiest, trading over 2.6 billion shell eggs and 39 million pounds of egg product valued at more than $600 million." ECI doesn't dominate the "broader egg market. . .but plays a crucial role in providing eggs for those in need or having trouble getting them, and how they are priced."

ECI operations are similar to stock exchanges, using eggs as their currency. It was created "as an alternative way to price and trade the commodity versus larger exchanges that operated in New York and Chicago," Thomas explains. "ECI began brokering trades in 1971 and its board was made up of industry executives including Fred Adams Jr., the founder of the largest U.S. egg producer, Cal-Maine."

The notion of egg trading is unique among food commodities which generally don't rely on "little-known exchange service to determine their value," Thomas reports. "All trades are blind, and only after a deal does ECI allow the parties to know each other’s identity."

Even as egg prices climb, American consumers continue to pay the painful cost per dozen. "Consumers on average are paying about $5 a dozen, a record high and double the price from roughly a year ago, according to the Labor Department," Thomas writes. "Demand has remained steady despite the high sticker prices, prompting some restaurants to add surcharges for egg dishes and consumers to step up purchases of liquid eggs or substitutes."

To read more about the egg "stock market," read the full story here.

U.S. consumers get smacked with another round of food inflation. Egg prices spike and other costs follow suit.

U.S. consumers endure another round of
food inflation. (Photo by 青 晨, Unsplash)

It's déjà vu for American food costs. The price of eggs and other grocery items are increasing while American consumers face another soul-crushing round of food inflation. U.S. grocery costs "increased 1.8% from a year earlier in December, rising at the fastest pace in more than a year," report Patrick Thomas and Jesse Newman of The Wall Street Journal. "The cost of food overall was 0.3% higher in December, after increasing 0.4% in November."

Why this is happening -- again? "There isn’t one factor. Bird flu is killing chickens, cutting egg supplies and sending wholesale prices to a record," Thomas and Newman explain. "Extreme heat and dry weather in the world’s coffee-growing regions have sent the cost of brews surging. Chocolate and cereal makers have raised prices for their products, too."

It's a problem. "Consumers are still acclimating to a stretch of bruising inflation following the Covid-19 pandemic," the Journal reports. "Grocery prices in December were roughly 28% higher than they were five years ago."

While on the campaign trail, President Donald Trump promised to put a lid on grocery prices -- a promise that could prove difficult to deliver. "Some of the problems underlying food costs, such as disease and bad weather, don’t have quick policy fixes," Thomas and Newman add.

Even as egg prices climb, some egg producers are making hefty profits. "The index for eggs was up 37% from a year ago, and the average retail price of a dozen large eggs increased nearly 14% to $4.15 in December," the Journal reports. "Price increases have helped increase the profits of egg companies, including Cal-Maine, the largest U.S. egg producer, whose stock has doubled over the past year."

The price of meat has also increased but experts predict meat prices will level out. On balance, cocoa and sugar prices have surged. Thomas and Newman write, "A candy company recently said it would raise its prices by 10%." When asked about food inflation, Mark Skogen, CEO of Wisconsin-based Festival Foods, told the Journal, "It just doesn’t end."

All creatures: Thousands of boar hybrids; loss for Cajun cooking; the better animal spy; is too much bacon possible?

A herd of boars roaming through a forest.
(Photo by Rolf Scmidbauer, Unsplash)

With thick fur to guard against stifling cold, keen minds and tusks as sharp "as steak knives," wild boar hybrids are "raising hell on the Canadian prairies," reports The Economist. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. When Canadian pig farmers were told in the 1980s that their animals' gene pool was thin, they turned to wild boars from Britain for fortification. . . . In 2001, the boar-meat market plunged. Some farmers, unable to sell their stock, simply released their hybrid pigs into the wild. . . .Today, those pigs' descendants roam the Canadian prairie provinces, a horde some 62,000 strong."

From East Texas to Louisiana's Acadiana region beats the heart of Cajun cooking, where recipes are usually chockablock full of boiled crawfish. But this year, Procambarus clarkii, also known as the red swamp crawfish, crayfish, mudbugs or crawdads, is not affordable for most. Its price is up nearly 500%. "Drought and last winter's hard freeze forced crawfish spawn die-offs ahead of their ongoing harvest time," reports Xander Peters of National Geographic. "The shock felt throughout the U.S. crawfish market is absorbed by its blue-collar producers and restaurant owners, as well as folks working in processing plants, deshelling crawfish, and delivery-truck drivers."

Photo by Marco Ugarte, AP

Crawfish aren't the only species having a hard time surviving extreme weather. The annual survey of monarch butterflies "found the second-lowest number of monarchs on record," reports Jenny Peek of Wisconsin Public Radio. "Monarch populations are extremely sensitive to high heat and drought — both of which are becoming more common with climate change. Habitat loss is also a major contributing factor to the species' decline."

 

Understanding chicken life and egg cartons
can be perplexing. (Unsplash photo)

Do happier chickens mean better eggs? Maybe. Read here to find out what kind of "wide open spaces" chickens like and what "label" is the best chicken environment. Still, even with that information, you may need help deciphering the egg carton. Read here to decode egg carton descriptions.

We have too much bacon. Whaattt? Bacon fans might be shocked, but talk to a U.S. pork producer, who will confirm that the nation has more pork than it can eat. "From giant processors to the farmers, they've made production so efficient that demand can’t keep up with supply," reports Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. "In search of solutions, farmers and processors are looking at everything from new overseas markets to fattier, tastier pigs."

Pigeons are better spies.
(Photo by Rorhof via NG)

Not all spies are Jason Bourne or Ethan Hunt. Some have fur, and others have feathers. But which is better? "Amid the high stakes and desperation of the Cold War, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency faced a perpetual espionage challenge: access," writes Christian Elliott of National Geographic. "How do you get a spy inside the secure inner sanctum of a foreign head of state. . . .You send in a feline spy. The CIA called the operation 'Acoustic Kitty.'" Spying kitties didn't share the CIA's agenda. "To find a more promising animal secret agent candidate, the CIA needed look no further than Acoustic Kitty's natural enemy: birds. Specifically, the humble pigeon." 

Human actors might learn a trick or two from this smart, charismatic group.
(Anheuser-Busch photo, AP via The Wall Street Journal)

The Super Bowl might be over, but this herd still deserves applause for elegance, a spot-on performance, and getting beer delivered to a small town in need. It's the famous Budweiser Clydesdale horses. "Less known is their reputation as perhaps the most consummate professionals on the advertising circuit," reports Katie Deighton of The Wall Street Journal. "Industry veterans who shoot commercials consider working with the horses a career pinnacle, like a movie director who finally gets to direct Meryl Streep." 

At last, the price of eggs is falling; supply exceeds demand

Photo by Hannah Oliver, Unsplash

Oh, Chicken Little, the sky isn't falling, but the price of eggs is! An expert says the decrease is a "supply-and-demand, market-driven tumble," reports Adam Russell of Texas A&M Extension. University economist David Anderson told Russell that he expects the trend to continue.

The price of a dozen eggs peaked in January of 2023 at around $5 and has been declining since. "The Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Marketing Service reported retail eggs nationally were $2.74 per dozen between April 14-20 and were expected to be around $1.08 per dozen this week, Russell reports. "Anderson expects the cost of a dozen eggs will continue to decline in other markets around Texas and the U.S. because wholesale prices are already down to 84 cents per dozen. Prices that are low could be concerning for producers and are likely to trigger thoughts about slowing production growth. Declining costs for feed like soybean meal and corn are also helping livestock and poultry producers and may contribute to even lower prices. . . . The falling wholesale egg prices could be a good indicator that the next Consumer Price Index might show falling retail prices."

Egg producers have been trying to recover their flocks after last year's devasting avian flu. Russell reports, "Egg supplies are still below where production was a year ago, but supplies continue to rise amid declining purchases, Anderson said. Rising supplies and weaker demand are driving egg prices downward. Producers continue to rebuild the table egg-laying flock hit hard by the avian flu outbreak. . . . [Farmers lost] over 43 million laying hens in 47 states. Anderson told him: "Some of the demand issues are seasonal, but consumer response to higher egg prices is also part of it. . . . Meanwhile, egg producers continue to increase production, and the market is responding to the supply and demand factors. It's a good example of how the market works."

Flora/fauna quickies: Dancing honeybees; brown widows attack black widows; bringing birds back to the farm . . .

The center bee does the waggle dance. (Photo by Heather Broccard-Bell, CC BY-ND)

They've got a waggle dancer, waggle dance groupies and distance dialects. It's not a rural string band, Black Velvet line dancing, or even "Hey! . . .Ho!" by the Lumineers. It's how honeybees tell each other "where to find resources such as food, water or nest sites," reports James C. Nieh for The Conversation, a platform for journalism by academics. Nieh studied how many "waggle skills" bees are born with and how many they learn from older bees, and reports, "In addition, each colony has a 'dance floor,' or the space where bees dance, with complex terrain that the dancers may learn to better navigate over time or by following in the footsteps of older dancers."

The connection between humans and whales has been so strong that a humpback whale song was included on NASA's Golden Records, launched into space on the Voyager spacecrafts as a representation of life on earth, reports Kiley Bense of Inside Climate News. "After decades of conservation efforts to protect whales, two recent books shed light on why they're still threatened—and how we might change that. . . . Tom Mustill's book, How to Speak Whale, offers one possible means of altering whales' fate: technology."

Black-capped chickadee (Photo by Scott Martin, Cornell Lab)

That's for the birds! What? Bugs. In California, the Wild Farm Alliance is working to bring birds back to the farm as natural pest control, reports Twilight Greenaway of Civil Eats. WFA Executive director Jo Ann Baumgartner told Greenaway, "There are so many beneficial things that birds do related to pest control, and different kinds of birds offer different kinds of pest control." Who are the best insectivorous birds? "Tree swallows, which are aerial foragers, meaning they're cruising around in the air and catching moths, flies, and flying insects," Greenaway shares. "There's chickadees, titmice, ash-throated flycatchers, violet-green swallows, and various kinds of wrens and nuthatches."

Mention Canada, and many people will think of mountains, beauty, Mounties, etc. One thing people don't think about is tornadoes. Canada has the second-highest number of tornadoes each year, reports Oliver Whang for The New York Times. Another surprise, Canada's tornadoes are hard to count. "Canada is vast. . . . Canadian tornadoes end up touching down in areas with no [human] witnesses. . . . The Northern Tornadoes Project in London, Ontario, has been seeking to address this. . . . Using social media and eyewitness reports, satellite imagery, drone footage and fallen trees, the group has tracked more Canadian tornadoes than ever before."

Left: Black widow spider. Right: Brown widow spider.
(Photos by Louis Coticchio, The New York Times)

Deadly, feared, found in song lyrics and old sneakers, black widow spiders have fearsome reputations. "But throughout the South, the bulbous arachnids with red hourglasses on their bellies are engaged in a lethal competition with the brown widow, a relative from abroad — and they're losing," reports Asher Albein of The New York Times. "Brown widows tend to be bold, investigating nearby webs and attacking spiders that don't resist. . . . The shy, retiring black widows generally try to escape, fighting back only as a last resort."

Found an egg in your pocket? Well, that's worth quite a bit. "For the first time in human history, the care and keeping of 11 hens all winter to receive one egg a day is now a pretty good deal," reports Eliza Blue of The Daily Yonder. "Imagine my delight then when the very next morning I arrived at the coop to discover not one, not two, but four eggs! It felt like I had won the egg lottery now that I knew how much they were worth. I complimented every single one of the hens since I couldn't be sure who had actually laid the eggs. . . . It also was a wonderful reminder that we've tipped toward spring and spring's abundance as hens increase their laying with the return of the light."

In some states, insects are not considered wildlife. They are left unprotected, and yet . . . "Bees, butterflies and beetles pollinate plants, enrich soils and provide a critical protein source for species up the food chain. The U.S. Forest Service says, 'Without pollinators, the human race and all of earth's terrestrial ecosystems would not survive,'" reports Catrin Einhorm of The New York Times. "Conservation officials in at least 12 states have their hands tied, legally speaking, when it comes to protecting insects. The creatures are simply left out of state conservation statutes, or their situation is ambiguous."

Bird flu impact may go beyond eggs; shows signs of spreading among mammals; vaccine for poultry to be tested

The U.S. is experiencing a record outbreak of bird flu, a virus that is currently deemed a low risk to humans, but has hiked prices of eggs and poultry. The Biden administration is weighing whether to vaccinate poultry against the disease and it appears that the virus can spread among mammals. 

Bird flu spread among minks at a farm in Spain. (Nature photo) 

"The virus is primarily a threat to birds," Emily Anthes reports for The New York Times, "but infections in mammals increase the odds that the virus could mutate in ways that make it more of a risk to humans, experts say," 

Anthes reports that a new variant of the H5N1 virus has "taken an unusually heavy toll on wild birds and repeatedly spilled over into mammals, such as foxes, raccoons and bears, that might feed on infected birds." 

More recently, it has infected farmed minks, which scientists describe as a "new and troubling development," pointing to an outbreak in Spain where the virus appeared to spread from mink to mink and had an unusual mutation that might be a sign of adaptation to mammals, Anthes reports, adding that experts say the mink outbreak is no cause for panic, but highlights the need for more proactive surveillance.  

Your Local Epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina reports that the risk of bird flu in humans is "currently very low," citing research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracked the health of more than 5,190 people who have been exposed to infected birds in 2022 and only one human case was reported. The Times reports "fewer than 10 known cases in people since December 2021, and there have been no documented instances of human-to-human transmission, according to the CDC."

Federal scientists are gearing up to test the first vaccines in poultry against the bird flu as a way to counter the growing oubreak, Alexander Tin reports for CBS News. The Biden administration has not yet greenlighted the use of these vaccines. Officials told Tin that one of the concerns about issuing these vaccines is that it could make it harder to export American poultry products.

The virus is spread from an infected bird's nasal secretions, saliva and fecal droppings. 

USDA says properly prepared and cooked poultry and eggs should pose no risk to consumers. 

"Right now you don’t need to do anything, unless you’re in close contact with birds. A person’s level of risk is dependent on duration and intensity of exposure. In other words, a person with one chicken in their backyard is at much lower risk than someone at a poultry farm," Jetelina writes. "Those around wild birds, such as at parks, lakes, rivers, or other waterways, need to exercise caution, including wearing PPE, washing hands, and changing clothes. If you have backyard poultry, wear a mask and wash your hands. Also, monitor the health of your flock, especially if they come in contact with other wild birds."